Cook Island Aquatic Reserve facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Cook Island Aquatic ReserveNew South Wales |
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Cook Island as seen from Fingal Head
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 Cook Island Aquatic Reserve
Location in New South Wales
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| Established | 23 October 1998 |
| Area | 74 hectares (180 acres) |
| Managing authorities | Department of Primary Industries |
| Website | Cook Island Aquatic Reserve |
Cook Island Aquatic Reserve is a marine protected area located in the South Pacific Ocean, located around Cook Island about 600 metres (2,000 ft) from the Fingal Head mainland of New South Wales.
The aquatic reserve consists of the waters around the island within a radius of 500 metres (1,600 ft) of a survey marker located on the island up to the Mean High Water Mark. It was declared on 23 October 1998 under the state's Fisheries Management Act 1994. As of 2016, its area was 74 hectares (180 acres).
The aquatic reserve consists of two zones – one extending from Mean High Water Mark on the island to a "boundary defined by five marker buoys" where fishing is prohibited and another extending from the "marker bouys" to the outer boundary of the aquatic reserve where fishing is permitted.
The waters within the aquatic reserve are used for recreational activities including swimming, boating and diving. Thirteen moorings have been located within the aquatic reserve for use by boats to eliminate the need to anchor and therefore minimise damage to the seabed.
The aquatic reserve contains a wide variety of fish species, anemonefish, bullseyes, groupers, leatherjackers, parrotfish, pufferfish, surgeonfish, sweetlips and trevally. It also has a mass of additional species, including brittle stars, flatworms, shrimps, nudibranchs, and is frequented by migratory shark species, blind sharks (Brachaelurus waddi), leopard sharks (Stegostoma semifasciatum) and wobbegongs. Other native animals include crustaceans, green turtles, jellyfish, molluscs and stingrays. It hosts diverse fauna and has been noted in 2009 by Tweed Shire Council's Coast and Waterways Officer, Tom Alletson as an important habitat of sharks.
As of 2016, the aquatic reserve had been classified under International Union for Conservation of Nature system of protected area categories with the no-fishing zone is IUCN Category II and the line fishing only zone is IUCN Category IV.
History
The first recorded European sighting of Cook Island was made by the English navigator James Cook, who sighted the coast of Fingal Head in 1770. Cook charted the coastline of the island, but made no attempt at settlement. Cook then continued sailing north along the eastern coast of Australia and named two nearby landmarks, Mount Warning and Point Danger, after he was nearly shipwrecked there.
In 1823, English explorer John Oxley anchored at the island to take refuge from southerly winds. Two crew members then visited the island and named it Turtle Island, after finding sea turtles and an unidentified shipwreck. Five years later, British admiral Henry John Rous surveyed the Tweed River and named the island, Cook's Isle, the name that has persisted.
Australian spearfisher Ben Cropp reported the sighting of a European vessel, wrecked on the island in the 16th century. In 2008, two fishermen, Joel Coombs and Malcolm Anable, were rescued from nearby the island, and later hospitalised, after they were thrown overboard as a result of their boat overturning.
Since 1998, the island has been managed by the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change and since 2004, by the Department of Primary Industries, as well. It is under the jurisdiction of the Tweed Shire Council, who hold annual clean-up events.
Flora and fauna
Cook Island is a breeding site for a number of species of seabirds, most notably terns and shearwaters. The surrounding marine area hosts diverse fauna and has been noted by Tweed Shire Council's Coast and Waterways Officer, Tom Alletson as an important habitat of sharks.
The marine surrounding Cook Island contains a wide variety of fish species, anemonefish, bullseyes, groupers, leatherjackers, parrotfish, pufferfish, surgeonfish, sweetlips and trevally. The island's marine also has a mass of additional species, including brittle stars, flatworms, shrimps and nudibranchs. The marine is frequented by migratory shark species, blind sharks (Brachaelurus waddi), leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) and wobbegongs. Other native animals include crustaceans, green turtles, jellyfish, molluscs and stingrays.
